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Driver who ate hash cakes claims diplomatic immunity from non-existent nation

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Mar 19, 2022, 06:44 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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The man claimed that the ‘republic’ bills describe it as “an individual and mobile sovereignty recognised by other states capable of acting with complete independence in strict compliance with international law” but the claims were not enough to convince the officers present at the spot.

 A Spanish man, who was pulled over for driving erratically after consuming hash cakes in the region of La Rioja in Spain, ended up getting a €2,001 fine after he failed to convince the police officers that he had immunity because he was a diplomat for an ‘individual and mobile’ republic.

“Once the vehicle had been intercepted, the officers asked the driver for his identity documents, to which he responded by showing a driving license and ID card from the República Errante Menda Lerenda (Wandering Republic of Yours Truly),” the police force said in their official statement.

The man claimed that the ‘republic’ bills describe it as “an individual and mobile sovereignty recognised by other states capable of acting with complete independence in strict compliance with international law” but the claims were not enough to convince the officers present at the spot.

“The driver ignored repeated requests to show credible identification and began to show the officers a lack of respect,” the statement continued. “He claimed to have immunity on the grounds that he was a member of the sovereign diplomatic service of the aforementioned republic.”

The man tested positive for THC after a drug test was conducted and the driver admitted to cannabis consumption. He faced a number of fines for misconducts and points were docked from his license.

According to its website, the Wandering Republic of Yours Truly is a micronation, officially proclaimed in 1999, that defines an individual person as an independent republic in themselves and recognises their national territory as the space they occupy at “each moment”.